Course Policies

Grade

Your grade is composed of the following components:

See below for details on each of those grade components.

Grading Scale

All your grade components will be added up with the percentage weights indicated and result in a single number. This number will determine your letter grade, according to the following scales:

If you are signed up for the four-credit-hour section, a larger, likely multi-part project assignment will be posted about halfway through the class and will count for three homework sets and factor into your homework grade correspondingly, diminishing the weight of the other homework.

Online Quizzes

There will be a short quiz due before each class. All these quizzes contribute a small amount to your grade. The intent of these quizzes is to remind you of the material covered in the prior lecture and to help you practice applying it. Each quiz should take you no longer than perhaps 15 minutes to complete.

These rules apply to the quizzes, unless otherwise stated:

• Quizzes will be posted 24 hours before the next lecture. You will find links to this material on the class calendar page in the section for the upcoming lecture and on the main course page.

• Quizzes will usually allow three graded attempts.

  Of these, the one with the highest grade will count.

• We obviously can't keep you from looking up information while you're taking the quiz. To an extent, that's fine. Nonetheless, try to do as much of the quiz as you can from memory. You'll learn more.

• Please don't take these quizzes as a group, or speak with your peers about the answers. The same academic integrity policy as for homework applies, for further details see the Section of this document regarding Collaboration on Homework.

• Each quiz has a deadline. Generally, that deadline will be the beginning of the next class. After that deadline has passed, you can still take the quiz for half-credit for three days. Once that period has passed, you will be able to review your answers and the correct answer, but you will not be allowed to take the quiz again for credit. (You may repeat the quiz to practice, however.)

• There is no time limit on these quizzes other than the deadline, as long as you click "End Session" and "Confirm" before the deadline.

  If you do not submit your quiz before the deadline, it will automatically roll over to half-credit.

  After the half-credit deadline expires, you will lose the ability to make changes to your quiz. The current state of the quiz at that point will count as your submitted answer (for half credit).

• IMPORTANT: You must fully submit your entire quiz in order to receive credit. To do so, you must press the "Submit Assignment" button in the upper right corner. This is separate from submitting a final answer to a single question.

Homework

There will be generally weekly longer-form homework sets over the course of the semester. One of these sets will be due every week, as shown in the class calendar. There will not be homework sets due during exam weeks.

Late homework

Homework submitted after the deadline will count for half of its original worth. This offer is good for up to one week after the original deadline. After that, no late work will be accepted.

Homework will typically come out during the day on Wednesdays and be due the following Wednesday, as indicated in the class calendar. Each homework set will typically consist of a combination of coding and written responses.

• Solutions to the homework sets will be posted after the due date. If you are submitting homework for the half-credit due date, feel free to use the posted solutions in writing up your own solution. You may however not directly copy the sample solution. What you submit must still be written by you, not just copied.

Grading

You get exactly one submission per homework set. In particular, this means that:

• After you click "Submit Assignment" in the top right corner, you will not be able to make changes to your work.

• No resubmissions of work already graded. If, between the posted solution and your graded work, you still have questions, feel free to raise those on the discussion forum or during the TAs' office hours.

• Homework sets submit themselves automatically at (or soon after) the deadline. If you would like to make use of the half-credit opportunity, you must select "At deadline: Do not submit session for grading". Otherwise, the homework set will automatically be submitted at the deadline. This is particularly true if you have not worked on the homework set at all but wish to work on it during the half-credit period.

• We do not accept partial submissions on the homework. (e.g. we will not let you submit problem 1 and 2 before and 3, 4, 5 after the deadline.) There will also be no resubmissions of work already graded. If, between the posted solution and your graded work, you still have questions, feel free to raise those on the discussion forum or during the TA's office hours.

Collaboration on Homework

• You may discuss your approach (but not your code or your writeups) with your peers. All parts of each homework set must be your own work. You must have typed/written every part of your homework yourself. In some cases, code/pieces of work from elsewhere may be allowed--if so, this will be stated in the instructions. In that case, you must acknowledge the source.

• Code from demos as well as submissions/answers from previous semesters may not be used in coding problem submissions. Unless otherwise stated, you must submit code you have written from scratch.

• If we notice that your work has considerable overlap with someone else's or with old submissions or solutions (and we do check), you will receive an allegation via the university's FAIR process and will be given the opportunity to state your case in front of a panel of faculty and students. It is important that you understand your rights (and obligations) in this regard as given in the UIUC student code.

Examlets and Final Exam

There will be four examlets during the semester, along with a longer final exam. The examlets and the final exam will take place in the computer-based testing facility ("CBTF"). The examlets will be offered over a period of a few days. You must schedule an 1h50m (final exam likely to be longer) block within that time span in which to take the examlet. You must schedule your examlet using a self-service web site provided by the facility. Instructions will be given in the class calendar.

Examlet 0 takes place early in the class and does not carry much weight. Its purpose is to help you assess your coding and linear algebra preparation as well as get you used to the process of taking exams in the CBTF.

Examlets 1, 2, 3, and 4 are regular examlets that occur during the semester. The highest three of these four grades count for 15% each of the course grade, totaling 45%. Examlet 4 occurs right before fall break and can help you make up for a lower score on an earlier examlet. If you are satisfied with your grades on the first three examlets, you may view examlet 4 as optional, or you may simply use it as a way to test your readiness for the final exam.

All examlets and the final are cumulative.

Taking examlets in person at the CBTF

• You will take your examlets as scheduled with the CBTF, and only on the scheduled day and time. If you do not take the examlet (e.g. by not scheduling an appointment, by not reporting to the facility at the scheduled time, or by not performing the required work), the examlet will be counted for a grade of zero.

• There will be no exceptions to the examlet scheduling policy except in cases of severe emergency (e.g., loss of life or limb). Examples of events that do not qualify as emergencies include (but are not limited to): transportation problems, conflict with work schedule, important family vacation, or computer problems. The policies of the facility apply during each examlet for aspects such as late arrival and emergency closures.

• For any type of foreseeable absence, documentation must be received by the instructor at least one week before the examlet to be acceptable, at which point the instructor will determine whether a make-up examlet will be allowed.

  Make-up examlets are not allowed without proper documentation as described above or for university-approved activities. Make-up examlets are not allowed for any type of unexcused absences, including missing class to study for a test, oversleeping, not being ready to take the examlet, or having to work at an outside job. Since we allow you to take the exam over a period of a few days, conflict exams will generally not be allowed.

  For health-related or other absence because of an emergency, the instructor must be notified at least two hours prior to the examlet to receive consideration for a make-up examlet, but preferably as early as possible. An hour before the examlet at the latest, the instructor will provide guidance on whether a make-up examlet will be allowed.

• No aids other than a writing utensil and paper provided by the facility are allowed in examlets. In particular: If you are seen near a phone, MP3 player or other digital device (turned on or not---it does not matter) during an examlet, you will receive a grade of zero for the examlet or final.

• Only examlets taken in accordance with these rules will receive credit. Any deviation from these rules will lead to the exam in question being assigned a grade of zero.

Taking examlets online remotely

If you are unable to use the CBTF for exams for reasonable cause, you may take examlets remotely online. If this applies to you, please contact the help desk as soon as possible to make sure we are aware of your situation and can prepare as needed.

IMPORTANT: Please contact us even if you've contacted us before regarding online participation, to ensure that we've got your records updated properly.

These online exams will be proctored via via the "CBTF Online" process, which will likely be similar to what you may have experienced in earlier pandemic semesters. Details of this process will be shared as they become available, in advance of each exam.

CBTF/Exam Policies

• This course uses the College of Engineering Computer-Based Testing Facility (CBTF) for its examlets and its final exam: https://cbtf.engr.illinois.edu.

• The policies of the CBTF are the policies of this course, and academic integrity infractions related to the CBTF are infractions in this course.

• If you have accommodations identified by the Division of Rehabilitation-Education Services (DRES) for exams, please take your Letter of Accomodation (LOA) to the CBTF proctors in person before you make your first exam reservation. The proctors will advise you as to whether the CBTF provides your accommodations or whether you will need to make other arrangements with your instructor.

• Any problem with testing in the CBTF must be reported to CBTF staff at the time the problem occurs. If you do not inform a proctor of a problem during the test, then you forfeit all rights to redress.

• In addition, each exam offers an "Evidence Box" at the end. If you have doubts and/or questions about some aspect of the exam, you may use that box to record your thoughts. This may later help you demonstrate (e.g.) that you had certain knowledge during the exam or that you observed certain things during the exam. Please also make any information you put into the evidence box available to your CBTF proctor.

Accommodations

Most exam accommodations (e.g. extra time or a distraction-free environment) can be made available directly through the CBTF. Please contact them to discuss specifics. If your needs cannot be met by the CBTF, please let the course staff know so that we can discuss other accommodation options.

Extra credit opportunities

• Ask and answer good questions on the discussion forum. Every numerics-related question that an instructor marks as a good question/answer is worth 0.1 points on your final course grade, up to a maximum of 1 point.

Student responsibilities

Please read and understand the UIUC student code.

In particular, make sure to read and understand Paragraph §1‑402. The rules there along with the rules in these policies form the foundation for making sure you and everyone else in the class receive a fair, transparent grade. Please see also the Collaboration on Homework Section above.

Special Requests

We are usually willing to provide quiz and homework extensions or make other exceptions provided a well-justified request is made in a timely manner. By far the best way to get a prompt response to such questions or other personal issues related to the class is to send a message to the CS450 help desk.

COVID 19

General Aspects

Following University policy, all students are required to engage in appropriate behavior to protect the health and safety of the community. Students are also required to follow the campus COVID-19 protocols.

Students who feel ill must not come to class. In addition, students who test positive for COVID-19 or have had an exposure that requires testing and/or quarantine must not attend class. The University will provide information to the instructor, in a manner that complies with privacy laws, about students in these latter categories. These students are judged to have excused absences for the class period and should contact the instructor via email about making up the work.

Students who fail to abide by these rules will first be asked to comply; if they refuse, they will be required to leave the classroom immediately. If a student is asked to leave the classroom, the non-compliant student will be judged to have an unexcused absence and reported to the Office for Student Conflict Resolution for disciplinary action. Accumulation of non-compliance complaints against a student may result in dismissal from the University.

Face Coverings

All students, faculty, staff, and visitors are required to wear face coverings in classrooms and university spaces. This is in accordance with CDC guidance and University policy and expected in this class.

Please refer to the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign’s COVID-19 website for further information on face coverings. Thank you for respecting all of our well-being so we can learn and interact together productively.

Building Access

In order to implement COVID-19-related guidelines and policies affecting university operations, instructional faculty members may ask students in the classroom to show their Building Access Status in the Safer Illinois app or the Boarding Pass. Staff members may ask students in university offices to show their Building Access Status in the Safer Illinois app or the Boarding Pass. If the Building Access Status says "Granted," that means the individual is compliant with the university’s COVID-19 policies—either with a university-approved COVID-19 vaccine or with the on-campus COVID-19 testing program for unvaccinated students.

Students are required to show only the Building Access Screen, which shows compliance without specifying whether it was through COVID-19 vaccination or regular on-campus testing. To protect personal health information, this screen does not say if a person is vaccinated or not. Students are not required to show anyone the screen that displays their vaccination status. No university official, including faculty members, may ask students why they are not vaccinated or any other questions seeking personal health information.

Grade Acceptance and Complaint Period

After grades are released for any homework set, quiz, or examlet, you have three weeks in order to clarify any misgivings you may have about the grade you received. Once three weeks have passed, the assigned grade is considered accepted and no further complaints will be considered.